The Las Vegas Raiders added Maliek Collins via free agency this offseason, and the biggest beneficiary of the move may be third-year DT Maurice Hurst.
Knowing they needed help along the defensive line heading into the 2020 season, the Las Vegas Raiders added a dominating defensive tackle in Maliek Collins. After drafting P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst in the 2018 NFL Draft, and adding Johnathan Hankins last season, defensive tackle may not have seemed like a need, but Collins is going to be an excellent addition up front for the Raiders.
In Collins, the Raiders are getting a defensive tackle that is not only adept at stopping the run, but he is going to be the key to unlock the Raiders pass rush. Collins is a handful up front, and when you add him to an already young, and talented collection of players at the position group, his impact is going to be felt on, and off the field.
Maurice Hurst is going to benefit big-time from Collins on the roster
One player who stands to benefit the most from Collins joining the Raiders is Hurst, who many believe will make his first Pro Bowl in 2020. Last season, Hurst played in all 16 games, making four starts, and showed that he also can get after the quarterback, make plays in the backfield, and be dominant against the run.
Hurst was supposed to be a first round pick back in 2018, but a heart issue at the combine had him fall to the fifth round. The Raiders were waiting with open arms, and now, heading into his third season, he is ready to take the next step forward and become one of the better defensive tackles in the game.
Collins is only 25-years old, and like Hurst, is coming off a 2019 campaign where he appeared in 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys. Once the Raiders added Rod Marinelli as their defensive line coach, the addition of Collins made so much sense, as the two worked together with the Cowboys the last few seasons.
Having a guy like Collins next to Hurst gives the young defensive tackle someone he can lean on, and someone who has had great success at the NFL level. These are two 25-year old guys who play the game with incredible intensity, and based on their skill sets, they should be able to play off each other successfully in 2020.
Hurst really came on in the second half of the 2019 NFL season, and now that Collins has arrived, the Raiders have a solid four-man group at the defensive tackle position for Marinelli. Remember, this defensive line also added another solid edge rusher in Carl Nassib, so heading into 2020, the defensive line has been upgrade, and hopefully Marinelli can get the most out of this unit in the first season in Vegas.